A SHOPPING event for vintage fashion enthusiasts, quilters and crafters will be held by the Bendigo Historical Society on Friday and over the weekend at the organisation's new headquarters in Mackenzie Street.
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Vice president of the society, Euan McGillivray said the items were priced between $5 to $50 and represented an opportunity to secure pieces that in some cases, were more than 100 years old.
"Many of these items would have been handmade or hand finished and they have been contributed to the collection over the years but we really don't know anything about them," he said.
"We think a lot would have been donated in the 1960s and 70s on the basis that they were old, but without any information about who they belonged to or where they were from."
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The pieces date from the 1900's to the 1960s.
Mr McGillivray said the society had between 35,000 and 40,000 items in its collection and needed to slim down its holdings to give greater attention to pieces of important historic significance.
A 2008 preservation needs assessment by Artifact Conservation estimated that about 40 per cent of the society's holdings were valuable only for "curiosity interest" and had no historic link to Bendigo apart from having been donated locally.
Mr McGillivray said three separate reports had been written on the subject, which had motivated the sale.
"It's important that people know that we are not selling off important parts of the collection," he said.
"These are pieces that we have no documentation for. It's an issue of provenance - we don't know the history of the items - we cannot tell stories about them.
"But we think they will appeal to buyers who love vintage fashion or would like to re-purpose the textiles. Some things are ready to be worn and others have tears and would be better suited to handicrafters or quilters who can re-purpose the materials."
The sale items will be displayed in three rooms to give shoppers space to inspect the dresses, hats, shoes, gloves, baby clothing and crochet samples on offer.
Historical society member Christine Howard, who tried on some of the pieces, said the dresses had a transformative affect once they were taken off the clothes hanger.
"Some of them don't look very special on the hanger but once you put them on they are so pretty and you really see them for what they are," she said.
"They make you feel as if you want to go off to tea. And a lot of these styles are really timeless."
The pop-up shop will be open on May 27, 28 and 29 from 10.30am to 4pm at 11 Mackenzie Street, Bendigo.
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